{"id":44652,"date":"2021-09-20T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-20T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/in-high-risk-southwest-colorado-fire-chiefs-point-to-wildfire-areas-of-concern\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:20:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:20:23","slug":"in-high-risk-southwest-colorado-fire-chiefs-point-to-wildfire-areas-of-concern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/in-high-risk-southwest-colorado-fire-chiefs-point-to-wildfire-areas-of-concern\/","title":{"rendered":"In high-risk Southwest Colorado, fire chiefs point to wildfire areas of concern"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Mike
Mike Kristensen, a seasonal wildland firefighter with Durango Fire Protection District, cuts down Gambel oak next to a ponderosa pine tree Friday on La Plata County land near Edgemont Highlands northeast of Durango. The 17 acres of county-owned land is covered with oak brush and dense ponderosa \u2013 a fire hazard and perfect opportunity for fire mitigation in the wildland-urban interface. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Narrow roads bordered by trees. Areas without nearby water storage. More and more homes intermixed with wilderness in neighborhoods with one way in and one way out.<\/p>\n

These are the factors that keep fire chiefs up at night thinking about how they\u2019ll save homes and lives in the event of a wildfire.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have to build a 24-foot-wide road instead of a 14-foot-wide road, it costs a lot more money,\u201d said Chief Hal Doughty with the Durango Fire Protection District. \u201cBut if we don\u2019t commit to those things, we end up in the same dangerous situation we find ourselves in right now. We haven\u2019t built our access infrastructure to the point where we can safely protect property.\u201d<\/p>\n

In one of many efforts to address wildfire hazards, the fire district, city of Durango, La Plata County and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment have partnered on the Wildfire Watershed Protection Fund to do mitigation work, Doughty said.<\/p>\n

The fund\u2019s first projects will focus on Durango West II, where brush is conducive to a fast-spreading fire near homes, and areas like the Rafter J subdivision and the Durango Hills area, which have hazardously dense plant life, he said.<\/p>\n

In other areas, ingress and egress roads, or the lack of nearby water storage, are the issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf efforts have been made to mitigate and diminish the height and density of fuels so the fire doesn\u2019t have the ability to come roaring in as a crown fire \u2013 and we\u2019ve provided good ingress and egress routes \u2013 our opportunities to save lives are much better,\u201d Doughty said.<\/p>\n

\"This
This map represents the likelihood\/probability of a fire occurring and the intensity of the fire based on landscape characteristics, such as existing vegetation, terrain and fire histories. (Courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

La Plata County residents face a challenging landscape: The entire county has a \u201cmoderate\u201d to \u201cvery high\u201d wildfire risk. Then areas with a high likelihood of fire overlap with conditions where a fire could burn with high intensity \u2013 in areas where buildings and wildland environments intermix.<\/p>\n

The city of Durango and La Plata County have teamed up with state and federal agencies on multijurisdictional, large mitigation projects. The Fire Adapted Durango Partnership \u2013 made up of the city, its residents and seven other agencies \u2013 is mitigating Durango\u2019s borders<\/a>. Its 38-acre project for 2021 is about 50% complete, said Amy Schwarzbach, the city\u2019s natural resources manager.<\/p>\n

Residents can even use an interactive map to check out fire and mitigation conditions for their properties. They can also clear brush away from their homes and have the city take it away for free during the Durango fall cleanup starting Oct. 4, Schwarzbach said.<\/p>\n

But more can always be done, fire chiefs say.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality of it is that every single one of the neighborhoods in our communities that is built in interface areas has its own specific profile of hazard danger,\u201d Doughty said. \u201cFor every one of those, we have mitigation we can do so that it keeps the fire from having free access to roll into those areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

One way in, one way out<\/div>\n

\"Scott
Scott Nielsen, left, wildland coordinator with Durango Fire Protection District, and Rob Farino, La Plata County emergency management coordinator, walk through overgrown Gambel oak and dense ponderosa pine trees Friday to assess fire mitigation needs on the La Plata County land near Edgemont Highlands northeast of Durango. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The Durango Fire Protection District covers 325 square miles, including the U.S. Highway 550 corridor from the southern border to the northern border of La Plata County.<\/p>\n

Narrow, steep roads are a concern in the Animas Valley north to Purgatory Resort. It can be difficult for emergency service vehicles to navigate those areas even on a warm summer day. Add people rushing to evacuate, or ice and snow on roads, and fire trucks may not be able to safely reach certain buildings, Doughty said.<\/p>\n

Then there are communities, such as Durango West II, where buildings mix with wildland environments. There, oak brush and other fast-burning fuels could help a fast-moving fire spread from the subdivision to the wildland area, or vice versa, Doughty said.<\/p>\n

From a fuel density standpoint, the Rafter J area southwest of Durango and the Durango Hills communities northeast of the city are his main concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe concern that I have is the potential for a fast-growing, fast-evolving fire based on the fuel density in those areas,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of those areas are one way in, and one way out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Densely
Densely grown ponderosa pine trees and thick Gambel oak cover La Plata County land near Edgemont Highlands northeast of Durango. Plant life in areas like this can be thinned to reduce wildfire hazards. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
Eastern La Plata County<\/div>\n

Upper Pine River Fire Protection District in eastern La Plata County has its own areas of concern.<\/p>\n

The Upper Pine district, 284 square miles in eastern La Plata and western Archuleta counties, is concerned about entry\/exit roads, water supply, overgrown areas and terrain.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith these two-lane, curvy roads \u2013 you\u2019ve got a situation where one car that goes off the road clogs up the whole line, and everyone has potential to be burned over,\u201d said Chief Bruce Evans.<\/p>\n

Forest Lakes Metropolitan District, one of the largest subdivisions in the county with about 1,100 residents, has curvy roads and a south-facing slope that gets heated in the sun. The fire district does not have enough resources to protect every home in the community, Evans said.<\/p>\n

The pros: The community has a good water supply and is well-organized.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people that live up in Forest Lakes are acutely aware of the risks up there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"A
A hiker makes his way through ponderosa pine trees and Gambel oak near Edgemont Highlands northeast of Durango. Thick brush near trees can help wildfires climb into the crown of the trees. Thinning brush and trees can help reduce the risk of fast-spreading, intense wildfires. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Sierra Verde Drive near Lemon Reservoir northeast of Durango is densely forested and has one road in, and one road out.<\/p>\n

The north side of Vallecito Reservoir also has a large population with one solid road to get out, he said. There is an alternate exit, but low-clearance vehicles can get stuck and gates can be locked through private land.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe burn scar from Missionary Ridge (Fire) is starting to heal over, and growth is coming back,\u201d Evans said. \u201cIn the next five to 10 years \u2026 the risk is going to be back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"This
This mitigation difficulty map shows the general successes and challenges of mitigating in alignment with wildland-urban interface mitigation regulations. (Courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Residents can see the overall wildfire risk level on their property using an interactive Wildfire Hazards map<\/a> created by the U.S. Forest Service and its partners. A second resource, the WUI and Mitigation Difficulty map, shows how easy or hard it could be to mitigate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next step one should take is once you know you need to mitigate, you need to contact your local fire department, FireWise, CSFS (Colorado State Forest Service) and see if they will do a property assessment,\u201d said Karola Hanks, DFPD fire marshal.<\/p>\n

Fort Lewis Mesa and Los Pinos fire protection districts did not respond with comment.<\/p>\n

Beyond cutting brush<\/div>\n

\"Andje
Andje Knopick, a seasonal wildland firefighter with Durango Fire Protection District, piles Gambel oak after thinning a section of La Plata County land near Edgemont Highlands northeast of Durango. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Even as residents work on their properties, more can be done, fire chiefs say.<\/p>\n

Doughty highlighted land-use code provisions that help create wide ingress and egress routes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t built our access infrastructure to the point where we can safely protect the property,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Evans suggested building codes that prioritize flame-safe materials for decks, windows and roofing. Additional water storage would help, although that\u2019s a difficult challenge in arid Southwest Colorado.<\/p>\n

\u201cMitigation isn\u2019t just pushing the brush back from your house. There\u2019s so many other things that need to happen or could happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The main takeaway: No matter where a person lives, wildfire hazard is part of life in La Plata County, said Shawna Legarza, the county\u2019s emergency management coordinator and former firefighter.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of La Plata County is in red. All of it\u2019s at risk. The federal, the state, the tribal governments, the homeowners \u2013 everybody has to play a part in being fire ready,\u201d she said. \u201cFire knows no jurisdictional boundaries and neither should the defensible space and fire mitigation activity in the county. We\u2019re all in it together.\u201d<\/p>\n

smullane@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"This
This map is based on an extreme event, or worst fire days, around Durango. This does not show the likelihood of a fire occurring but does show where fires are likely to burn at high intensity. For example, a fire that starts in an area where the local hazard is high can spread fast and burn at high intensity creating significant wildfire exposure to any structures in the area. (Courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Interactive maps help residents see address-by-address where mitigation is needed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1480,1030,350,28,1310,1370,84],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-44652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-durango-fire-protection-district","tag-environment","tag-fire","tag-headlines","tag-safety-of-citizens","tag-upper-pine-river-fire-protection-district","tag-wildfire"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44652"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86168,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44652\/revisions\/86168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44652"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=44652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}